MUMBAI: Richard Illingworth and Rod Tucker have been named by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to be on-field umpires for the India-New Zealand semifinal of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. Australia’s Tucker will stand in his 100th ODI match as an on-field umpire with Illingworth, as the semi-final clash lines up between the host nation and New Zealand, who beat India at the same stage four years ago.
Illingworth was also an on-field umpire on that occasion when New Zealand won over India by 18 runs in a weather-affected match spread over two days at Manchester, Old Trafford, while Tucker was the third umpire.
Tucker stood in his first ODI in January 2009 and he is set to be joined for his landmark match by third umpire Joel Wilson, fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock and match referee Andy Pycroft in Mumbai.
Richard Kettleborough has also reached a century of ODIs during this competition and will add to his tally when he oversees the second semi-final between Australia and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, in what is the re-match of the 1999 World Cup semi-final.
Kettleborough’s milestone arrived when the Netherlands played Sri Lanka at Lucknow on October 21, and this will be the third consecutive World Cup in which he would have overseen a semi-final. He will be joined on the field by India’s Nitin Menon, officiating in his first World Cup, while Chris Gaffaney will act as third umpire. Michael Gough (fourth umpire) and Javagal Srinath (match referee) complete the quintet for Kolkata.
Another milestone achieved during the World Cup was Pakistan’s Ahsan Raza standing in his 50th ODI game, in the match between England and the Netherlands at the MCA Stadium in Pune on November 8.
“We are happy to announce the match officials for the semifinals of the World Cup. The officiating team has performed to a high standard to this point of the event, and I wish those in the knockouts all the very best.” “I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Rod and Richard for their milestones during this World Cup. Such achievements are only earned via consistently strong performances which is a credit to each of them,” said Sean Easey, ICC Manager of Umpires and Referees. (IANS)
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